


Rewind

by shumvera



Category: Glee
Genre: F/M, Family, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-02
Updated: 2012-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26204800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shumvera/pseuds/shumvera
Summary: This is the story of Mike and Tina; from their first date, to the moment they laid eyes on their children. From the ups and the downs, we view how the duo made it out to be such a perfect couple. The chapters are in one shot form but follow a chronological order of Tike's life as narrated in either one's POV.
Relationships: Mike Chang/Tina Cohen-Chang
Kudos: 6





	1. First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina and Mike meet for the first and decide to go on their very first date.

I saw her standing at the corner of the hallway, looking for me. She innocently positioned herself there, wearing that elegant pink dress with the exquisitely highlighted hair to match. Tina Cohen-Chang, the school's most radiant girl, was going to go on a date with me, Mike Chang, the dancing Asian. Maybe she wasn't popular herself, but I've never really imagined anyone at her level of beauty to even look at me, let alone go out with me, but it was happening.

As I continuously stared, she soon noticed me, and my heart began to skip a beat. Crap.

"Hey Mike," she said gracefully. Say something, idiot.

"H-hi. Tina. " What the hell was that?

"You okay? "

"Yes, yes, er, you wanna go?"She showcased her gorgeously bright smile and added a nod on top. And from there we soon linked arms and walked off together. From this exact moment, the entire world just disappeared and nothing else seemed to matter, I was holding Tina Cohen-Chang's arm, my life could've ended right there and I would've been okay with it, but no, it got better...

As the two of us made our way to my favourite restaurant, Asian Sensation, I could see her glaring around at the astonishing mahogany tables and the splendid smell of noodles. I knew that she would love this place. The seats were a shiny, comfortable leather that sucked you into it's comfort as soon as you sat down. We then ordered our food and began to eat it in slight unison. We'd eat our noodles, the soup, the spring rolls, with a few laughs here and there, everything I'd wished for. It was perfect.

"So what made you want to ask me out?" she asked at one point.

"I don't know, you're just, so beautiful, and I've kinda gotten a back view of you every day in Biology" I can just tell that my face has just flushed into a huge pile of red, why the hell did I say that?

"Haha, really?" her smile was so innocent and pure that it just made me mirror her exact expression.

"Yeah, I know, it's kinda embarrassing"

"No, that's adorable!" Although I didn't realise that it was possible, her smile grew even more, making me reflect the exact same emotion. We then continued to eat the noodles, feeling even more happier about the date. Noodles. Spring rolls. Soup. After the eating, she got out her purse.

"No," I said in a slightly demanding voice, "let me pay,"

"No-no-no Mike, I wanna pay, please?" I knew that it was my job to pay, but she was so sweet, ugh, but I had to, so I placed my hand on top of hers until she put it away. Good.

As we made our way to the cashier desk, I felt Tina's resplendent touch of her hand on mine, slowly making its way through each finger until we made a perfect match. My natural instinct was to turn around, which lead me to a close encounter with her lips. They touched. Our bodies were touching. Eyelids shut. The softness of her mouth felt the entire radius of mine. Everything was perfect.


	2. College

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High School is over. And with Mike one year into college already, will the two lovebirds separate and move on, or will they stay on the same wave length?

A few years later and high school was over. Mike has always been a year ahead of me. When he graduated I had to spend an entire year of it alone. It sucked. Hard. But luckily we both got into Juilliard. We decided to study voice, as well as me taking an acting program while Mike took his dancing classes. Mike added voice on his second year, so we were both in the same class. Although we did face our problems here and there, it was a great time together. I still remember that first day I arrived on campus...

He was sitting alone on a desk, tapping his pen to some imaginary beat. I could just tell that he was rehearsing for something, even though it was the first day back. Oh, Mike. As I walked inside the classroom, he suddenly got a little surprised, as if he didn't expect to see me there. 'Tina?' he mouthed to me. I just giggled because he looked so adorable. He then got up as if he'd just won the lottery. He walked quickly across the classroom to me with his smile increasing after every step.

"Tina!" he finally announced. "Welcome to Juilliard, Chang 2.0." He patted my head to add on his 'superior' effect.

"Get off of me!" I said, punching him in the arm. "I don't need your little head pats here too, Michael." We then made our way to the corner seat, where he was previously at. He elegantly pulled my chair out with his masculine arms and pushed me inside. The lesson was just an introduction to vocal classes, and how we had to be prepared to give it our all, blah blah blah. Pretty soon the lesson was over and Mike and I were sitting on a field, side by side. The usual questions were passed. 'How'd it go?' 'You think it'll be hard?' and all of that.

As time went on, more and more people entered the field. We saw a range of goths, nerds, blondes, asians, everything. And we all shared one passion. The arts. We didn't really make any contact with anybody, but the atmosphere was so amazing that we didn't need to. It felt good to finally be in an atmosphere where everybody shared a similar interest. The air was perfect, the sun was shining, nothing could be more perfect.

"Damn," Mike said, looking at his planner. "I've got a dance class in a bit. "

"Ah, man. Do you have to leave now? " I replied, holding his knee in desperation of wanting him to stay.

"Yeah, we'll talk later hun, alright? " after this he quickly kissed my head. It was a short moment, but it was his way of reminding me that I'd always be his. And it always reminded me of our first kiss. He still didn't know by then that my first kiss was with him. As I watched him go, I somehow held on to his presence by laying on the grass where he was. I was so in love with him that I hated not seeing him so much.

"Hey, you okay there? " came a young boy with glasses.

"Um, yeah, hello. " I replied, awkwardly sitting up.

" Let me introduce myself, I'm Tim. " He opened in hand immediately.

" I'm Tina. " I replied, shaking his hand gently.

" I saw you in my vocals class. You're new here, right? "

"Yeah, I love to study voice, it's something that I find really interesting. Plus, singing makes me happy. " I didn't know anything about this kid. Only what his first name was and that he was in my vocals class. Yet nothing seemed to matter. He was so kind and welcoming that I didn't really care for details. We spent an hour or two talking about life and getting to know one another, and then Mike arrived. I didn't notice him at first until he spoke.

" Hey ." he said softly. Immediately I turned my head, as if I'd done something wrong, although I knew I hadn't. Dammit .

"Hey Mike. Meet Tim. He's in our vocals class. " I could tell that Mike didn't like him already, the handshake was so awkward you could virtually see the tension floating in the air. "So, how was dance? " I asked, desperately wanting the change the atmosphere.

"It was great. Learnt a lot about this year. " he quickly put his hand around my arm, as if to tell Tim to get the hell away from me. After a long and very quiet session of 'back off from my girlfriend', Tim decided to leave. I had to explain to Mike exactly who this kid was and how he was not a threat to our relationship. But did he believe me? Nope.

After every single time that Mike and I would be separated and talk to a person from the opposite gender, the other would seem to get jealous. I tried to talk to Tim, he tried to talk to some girl called Madeline, but it was just too hard. Then I brought the topic up.

"What the hell is wrong with us! We can't even go a simple conversation with the opposite sex without a fight. " He didn't even reply. "So what should we do! "

"Wait, what are you suggesting? "

" I-I'm n- "

"Are you suggesting we break up? "

"What? " the words were so sudden, it wasn't on my mind but it felt a little, right. " Mike" I spoke up.

"Forget it, Tina. We can't exactly spend the rest of our lives only talking to each other, can we now! " his voice was pissed. He had a right to be. But so did I.

"It's not like I can help it, Mike. I love you! " He just stood there in silence, his eyes moving around a little. Then he left. Not even a single other word. Just silence. Tears slowly streamed down my face as the reality of what had just happened hit me. Mike and Tina were no more. All that time in High School. From our first date in Junior year to our summer vacation getaway in Hawaii. All to this. All leading up to a pile of nothingness.

After a few weeks of not talking to each other, Mike and I watched as the other made friends with new people. He found a French girl called Yara, a nerd called Ronald and Madeline. I however only stuck with Tim. The two of us got more and more closer by the hour. That was, all up until he tried to kiss me.

"What are you doing! " I yelled, a little too loudly.

"I, I thought we had something ."

"What? No, Tim, I- "

"Forget it, I understand. "

"No, Tim, wait, " but of course he didn't, he just left, leaving me alone to think about my stupid mistakes. Why the hell didn't I just kiss him? It's not like Mike and I are even dating anymore. Everything at that one moment just felt like it was all over. I felt so fricken' terrible.

As I had pretty much no friends, I spent the next month or so alone. Into classes alone, out of classes alone. I had a tendency to complain at the little things that people would do. One girl even asked what the difference between an encore and repeating a song was. "They're the same thing!" I moaned. God knows what had gotten into me. Every single vocal class, Mike and I was the most loud ones there. It was as if we'd been competing. We'd both raise our hands in a fast paced unison as we wanted to somehow, desperately, want to answer the questions. Ugh .

Then in one lesson, the teacher decided to pair us all up, brownie points to whoever guesses who I got paired up with. Yup. Mike.

"So your assignment this week ," the instructor said, eyeing out every pair, "is to express every emotion you feel with the song that I gave you. " He then gave us some sheet music with the title "L.O.V.E - Nat King Cole". The song we sung in the choir room around Valentine's Day. Great.

In the auditorium on a Tuesday night, Mike and I met up to practise the song.

"How've you been? " he asked, waiting for my reply as my silence caused awkwardness.

"Um, I've been okay, yourself? "

"That's good to here. Me too. "

" That's nice. " Awkward. Awkward. Awkward.

" Wanna practise? "

" Okay. " As we made our way to our self allocated positions on stage, we began to sing.

" L, is for the way you look, at me... "

" O, is for the only one, I see... " It was all so perfect. Exactly How I remembered it. We even did the movements we did, all except one. As I came spinning in Mike's arm at one point, he didn't let me go, and held me to his chest. For a few seconds we just stood there, in each other's comfort. Nothing felt odd. Nothing felt different. It was as if nothing had even changed.

"I'm so sorry, Tina, " he whispered into my ear. " I love you ."

"I love you too Mike Chang. " The warmth of his arms kept even the inside of me heated. Mike and Tina were back.

On the Friday that we had to perform, Mike and I watched as the other duos performed outstanding performances. We saw people sliding across the stage, choirs in the background, balls flying, all sorts. Then it was time for us to shine.

The music started to play and we moved a little with our hands and backsides. We looked each other in the eye and gave off a welcoming look.

"L, is for the way you look, at me... " he began softly. His voice was so humble and nice that I could just fall asleep listening to him. He sounded beautiful.

"O, is for the only one, I see... " The two of us did the exact same movements we did back in high school and it was all so perfect.


	3. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's New Years Eve, 2012. How will the lovebirds enter the new year?

Monday, 31st December 2012. Tina and I were sat in our month old apartment by the fire in each other's arms. She was laying there holding on to the last few moments together before we'd go set off to the New Year's Eve party at campus. My left index finger was curled up in a twirl of her gorgeous, long, well cared for hair. I hugged her deep in my arms as I whispered words in her ear simultaneously.

"You are the love of my life, Tina Cohen-Chang, and although you already share my surname, we gotta make it official, okay?" This just made her giggle immediately. Her laugh was so damn cute. Whenever I heard it all I wanted to do was kiss her. Which I always did.

As we sat there by the fire, watching the flames move about while we exchanged the most random conversations that we could. We even shared a kiss here and there. She made me so fricken' happy.

"Who do you think's gonna be at the party?" she asked after a short silence of watching the fire.

"Probably the whole of campus. With these assignments that we have, I'm pretty sure everybody believes that they deserve it."

"True," she replied, her face still with the same slight smile upon it. "Luckily we've gotten past the jealousy stage, right?"

"Haha, yes, luckily we have." Just to ensure her that I loved her, I planted a kiss on her delicate forehead, which she then allowed me to move down to her soft, peck-able lips. Lovely.

As soon as the two of us entered the doors to the party, the sound was already immense. The music was banging, the drinks were being passed around, the kisses were already being shared, whoa. Tina's first ever New Year's Eve College Party, and she got to share it with me. Perfect.

As the party began to move on, I noticed drinks spilling everywhere. It was getting pretty messy so I had to grab Tina.

"Tina!" I called, scouring the room for her innocent presence. "Tina! You in there?" I opened the wardrobe to see two first years making out. Oh first years...

"Mike?" I heard behind me. "Mike? You okay?" It was Tina.

"Tina!" Quickly I gripped my arms around her and tugged them tightly. "Where were you!"

"I was just-" but before she could even finish what she was about to say, Tim showed up... and even had the nerve to put his arm over her shoulder.

"Hey Mike, haven't seen you-" quickly I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pushed him to the wall with our faces in close contact.

"What the hell are you doing with your arm around my girlfriend?" I said sharply.

"Mike! He wasn't doing anything wrong!" Tina preached, which I unintentionally ignored.

"I-I-" he didn't even finish his sentence before a huge Thud! hit him across his petite jaw.

"MIKE!" Screamed Tina, immediately attracting the attention of the people around them. "Tim!" She yelled, dropped to the floor and tried to move the newly unconscious weakling. "Oh my God, Mike what did you do? He's unconscious!" How the hell does one get unconscious so quickly? I thought to myself, but I had to keep that part inside.

"He deserved it," I finally said aloud. "What the hell does he think he's doing!" Tina then got up and touched my chest. She opened her mouth, but before she could even speak I felt the rough touch of bodyguards pulling me out of the room.

"Mike!" she then yelled towards me. "What ab-" but by the time she got to that part of her sentence, her voice was drowned out by the closing of the doors in front of me. I looked down at my wristwatch. 11:50pm. 2 more minutes 'til midnight. Shit. It was all over. I wanted to get that perfect kiss in right on midnight. But no way was I gonna' be allowed back in that room. As the time went by, I saw people dancing, hugging, waiting for that one moment where they could share the perfect kiss with their loved one. Everybody on campus could. Everybody except me. And even worse, neither could Tina. As sitting here watching everyone have the time of their lives was extremely depressing, I just walked down the halls of the building. I was searching for an empty room but everything was occupied by teachers ready to make out, the slobbery couples, or was locked. I then found one room with Mr Ryans inside. He was old guy, with his glasses always to the tip of his nose. He never smiled. Nope. Nor did he even share a smirk. But why not just go in?

"Hey," I said after I knocked slowly on the door. "May I come in?" The room fell silent as he slowly shifted his eyes from the television and moved them to the awkward teen in the doorway.

"Sure," he said abruptly, quickly moving his eyes back to their previous position. I then quickly sat down on to an empty seat on the opposite side of him, who was strangely sat in the centre of the classroom. "What brings you here?" he asked, his eyes still fixated on the screen.

"Er, I got kicked out of the party. You?"

"It's my room." Oh. "Looky here, it's almost time for the New Year's Day countdown. I always love it because it means one more year closer to my death."

"What?" I said without thinking. "How could you think like that?" But before he had time to reply, the countdown began.

" Ten, " the students shouted. "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, HAPPY NEW YEAR!" All of the couples on the screen shared their passionate and heartfelt kisses, with the single people sharing various hugs and 'Happy New Year' exchanges. It was anything but cute to me. I looked to my right and I saw Mr Ryans staring blankly at the screen. Even he was grossed out by it. Ha.

"Mike!" came a hushed voice from the door. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!" Tina!

"Tina?" I said in a much louder tone. "I've been in here with Mr Ryans. We were just watching the New Years Day Countdown together.

"What? I thought you would just stay outside of the party room. I came out like 30 seconds later and you were nowhere to be seen!"

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Guilt rushed all the way through me. We missed our first ever College New Year's kiss because of me and my pride. "Tina, pl-"

"Hey," she interrupted. Sexy. "You know, we still haven't shared our New Year's Day Kiss. Wanna help with the countdown?" Her eyes brightened a little.

"Ooh, don't mind if I do." I then added a wink afterwards.

"Ten," she began.

"Nine,"

"Eight,"

"Seven,"

"Six,"

"Five,"

"Four,"

"Three,"

"Two,"

"One." And in that instant, the two of us slowly collided and our bodies met. Our noses touched, our mouths moved in, then our lips came into close contact. The softness of her beautiful mouth with the sweetness of her added cherry lip gloss made my insides tingle.

"Awwwww," came a voice from the other side of the room. We turned around to see Mr Ryans smiling, at us. At us!

"Mr Ryans?" Tina asked, confused.

"That's the sweetest thing I have ever seen, bravo, brava!"

And with that, our New Year's Kiss was made. Although it wasn't exactly picture perfect, it somewhat made the most miserable man in the building smile, so it had to be worth something.

"I love you Tina Cohen-Chang," I whispered, rubbing our noses together.

"I love you too, Michael Chang Jr.," she then imitated the gesture and we both giggled with excitement.


	4. Broadway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina makes her debut on Broadway, but will the nerves and the blinding lights of New York City get the better of her?

Tina Cohen-Chang; Broadway's newest icon. So many posters would showcase my name as the starring role in the production. All of those years of college, auditions, call-backs, failures, all of it, it all came down to this. The dream I've been wanting my entire life. And it was finally my reality. Mike was 28 and I was 27. He had become a choreographer for many music videos, including Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and even Britney Spears! We were both living the dream.

Every now and again, when Mike and I both found a suitable free slot in our timetable, we'd go out for a date, or even just hang out. Our careers were so perfect that they fit around our social lives too. Nothing could be any better than this.

One particular evening, Mike and I were sat at a Chinese restaurant in formal wear; he wore a slim fit black tuxedo with a slim fit red shirt and tie to match. I had a short red dress with the same coloured lipstick as well as my hair curly and loose. As we sat down, we spoke quite a bit about our careers.

"So you're gonna be having your opening weekend in like seven days for Spring Awakening?" Mike asked intriguingly.

"Yeah. I finally got the role of Wendla and we're opening next week! Are you gonna come?" My face lit up, I was so fricken' excited.

"Definitely! Do you really think I'm gonna miss my darling's first ever opening weekend as a starring role!" he was now unintentionally imitating my exact reaction. We quickly leaned in for a little peck on the lips and moved back in unison.

"So when's your next music video gig then?" I asked, putting my chopsticks into the noodles.

"Tomorrow, actually. We're still doing the Britney shoot. She's a little bit of a diva, you see."

"Wow, really? How bad is she?"

"She keeps requesting new towels every two fricken' seconds, complains that the water isn't "cool" enough AND she has the audacity to criticize by choreographing skills. She's worked with me and we have planned it all, and now she wants to change it up? Ugh, I hate that in a person."

"Woah," I said, looking at Mike in the eye. "That's showbiz, huh?"

"Guess so," his face was frowning at this point. "So tell me more about this fascinating role of yours!"

A few days later in my new apartment, three days before my opening performance, my cell phone blew up.

"Hello?" I answered in the phone.

"Hello. Tina Cohen-Chang?" came a deep voice.

"Um, yes, who's calling?"

"I am calling to ask you if you'd be interested in going on a date with one Michael Chang Junior tomorrow night at his apartment to see a previous version of Spring Awakening?"

"Ugh, Mike, is that you!" I couldn't help but giggle at his dorky-ness. "What's with the funny voice, Mr. Choreographer?"

"What funny voice, madam?"

"Oh shut up you dork! I'll catch you there at eight," my giggle was so apparent that I knew that Mike was smiling through the phone too.

"Roger that." Mike quickly put his phone down and my smile grew immensely. It was lovely knowing that although we were so far apart, we still found a way to keep in touch. As I put my phone away, gazing at the picture of us at the background, I began to think of my performance. So Mike has decided to watch a former version of Spring Awakening with me. Clearly it's to help me out. But what if I'm not as good as them? What if everybody's comparisons are not in my favour and that I'm nowhere near as fantastic as this previous lead? Everything was rushing to my head so much that I began to feel a little light headed.

The following night I knocked on the door at Mike's apartment. He opened it quietly and I could see that he was wearing a plain white vest with navy blue jogging bottoms and a black robe on top. Then there was me with my posh black top with frilly translucent sleeves and black jeans. Smooth.

"Hey there, come on in," he said in a gentleman-like manner.

"Don't mind if I do," I replied over ecstatically, attempting to hide my nerves. I then made my way to the couch and sat down in front of the television.

"So, you ready to watch the person you're about to blow away in two days time?"

"Um, hell yeah," my elastic smile was present. He knew that it was fake. He also knew not to bring anything up. As he sat down, he placed his muscular arm around my delicate shoulders and pressed the 'play' button on the remote. Wendla started to open up dramatically with her rendition 'Mama Who Bore Me'. My stomach fell instantly. The knots inside began to tie up. My head felt a wide unease. How am I supposed to top this? I thought to myself. The vocals. The emotion. The movement. I was doomed.

After the production had finished, my eyes were fixated on the screen.

"Tina," Mike said softly, "are you okay?"

"What?" I replied. He knew exactly how I was feeling, and why.

"Listen to me," he announced suddenly, "you're Tina Cohen-Chang, you didn't go through years and years of tries, failures and work to just let it all get blown away by some silly little fear! Okay?"

"Mike, do you realise how talented that woman was? There's no way in hell that I could be better than her! Do you realise how difficult that will be!"

"You're Tina Cohen-Chang! Did you not hear the first time? Tina," he immediately wrapped his hand around mine and trapped my eyes within his. "There is no way that you are gonna ruin this chance you have because of a little stage fright. You've worked too hard to let it all go away so soon. Don't you have that much respect for yourself?" He was right. Everything he said was right. Why let myself blow all of this away because of a little stage fright? So I wasn't going to. Mike then lifted me up into his arms and quickly kissed my head. Pretty soon I felt the tender touch of his arm slowly pull off my clothing. One piece after another. I was then standing in my underwear in front of him. He kissed my head and sent a ray of excitement through my body. I felt a soft material being put over me. My nightgown. It was done so elegantly, and was so comforting. This was then followed by his arms slowly being wrapped around my waist.

"I love you Tina Cohen-Chang" he whispered as he lifted me on to the bed and placed me down. His masculine figure then appeared next to me. "This Saturday is your time to shine, Tina. You're gonna blow them all away."

"I hope so," came my soft reply to his hushed tone.

"You will so, Tina. I believe in you. And I need you to do the same as well, alright?" I need to do this. Not for me. For us. For him.

"Alright" I whispered. Slowly our eyes faded as we fell asleep. I was in his arms. He was holding me. Everything was as I'd needed it to be for the performance this weekend. But was it enough?


	5. Success

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are looking up for Mike and Tina, but they're about to change forever.

"Mamma who bore me...

Mamma who gave me...

No way to handle things, who made me so sad..." Tina Cohen-Chang, my beautiful, astonishing girlfriend was singing her heart out on stage to a crowd of thousands. As the curtains opened for her performance to begin, she blew me away instantly. She stood on that stage so emotionally, delivering every single power she could to every piece of dialogue that she was given.

"There's a man outside – three times bigger than an ox, with feet like paddle-steamers!" she announced, unmistakably.

"What? That's impossible –"came her co-star. Tina worked so damn well with everybody she shared the stage with. I sat in the audience, gazing at her. Her passion was so clear, she distributed every single scene with ease.

"I'll kneel here," she announced to another co-star, "at your feet, with my head in your lap, and you can cover me with your apron. Then you can just talk, pretend I'm not here at all. I won't flinch, or scream, I promise!" This is why I loved her. As the show went on, I watched her sing, dance and execute every performance at its very best. She had me smiling all the way throughout, I even shed a tear once or twice. As the show came to a close, the entire cast went front stage and took their bows. Tina had the loudest, which, I probably caused as I stood from my seat and clapped and cheered immensely. She noticed me acting like a fool so she giggled and waved. I was so friggen' proud of her.

After the show, I'd waited for her to come out. As soon as she did, a massive round of screaming shook me as a bunch of fans ran towards her. I saw her taking a bunch of photographs, signing pieces of paper, talking, I was so damn happy and proud for her. It took a good half hour for the crowd to clear and for Tina to then approach me.

"Mike!" she screamed as she ran up towards me with her arms open.

"Teenie Weenie!" I said in a playful tone as I wrapped my arms around her tightly. "You were flawless tonight, honey," my face moved in, almost instantaneously for a kiss.

"Thank you so much, I saw you in the crowd at the end, you have no idea how much that meant to me!" At this point her arms were hanging loose from my neck as she was looking up at me, and I was looking down at her.

"Oh really? Do you wanna show me how much that means to you, tonight?" I added a little humorous yet sort of alluring wink at the end of the sentence. She only giggled and imitated my seduction techniques.

"Why of course, Michael Chang Junior," her voice was now the same as me when I gave her that phone call the other night. "Let's do it," and there comes the wink. Typical.

That night, Tina and I walked into my apartment after I drove her there in my car. I had my arm around her shoulder and we slowly moved into the room. She quickly fell on to the bed and lay there. She was so tired yet so elegant. I don't know how, but she looked drop dead gorgeous.

"I'll be back in a minute," I said as I entered the bathroom to freshen up. I threw water on my face, rubbed a toothbrush across my teeth, poured and spat out a dose of mouthwash and got under the shower to let the small drops of it wash away my filth. I came out fifteen minutes later in a black pyjama top and navy blue jogging bottoms.

"I expected something, way more revealing than that, Sir Chang..." her voice was so attractive it had me walking with my head slightly lifted.

"Well, you can always change the circumstances," I remarked, attempting to capture her in my control. She quickly paced towards me and grabbed my shirt from my chest and pulled me towards her. Our lips met heavily, the softness of her bottom lip met the desperateness of mine, my tongue fell into her mouth, our heads moved in. She quickly pulled my top off over my head as she felt the slenderness of my toned body. I could hear her moaning through the kiss. Our lips moved apart as I then placed my hands across her waist and rubbed them against her slim, elegant figure. I pulled her blouse off and felt her black bra strap along the way. Once the only visible clothing on her body was her bra, I softly felt her chest, allowing her to lean her head back in pleasure. I untied the strap, revealing a beautiful pair of breasts. I softly rubbed my hands against them as we both leaned our heads in. As our lips touched again, she slyly pulled down on the tip of my bottoms and allowed them to fall to my ankles. She repositioned herself so that my back was facing the bed and then pushed me onto it. As I kicked off my pants, she placed her knees either side of my torso, kissed my mouth and rubbed the side of my head passionately. I then pulled off her trousers, revealing her black, sexy knickers. I rubbed my hands against her back as she slowly moved down my body. She pulled down my boxers and laid her eyes on my erected member. She placed her mouth along it as she moved back and forth, moaning as the pleasure hit her by every movement. As she moved back, I took this as my opportunity to get involved more, so I leaned forward and pulled down her knickers, revealing a fully naked and beautiful woman in front of me. I lay her down as I copied her previous position and moved my entire body in the right spot. I moved my head in closer and whispered to her.

"Do you want it?"

"Yes Michael, please," her eyes began to shut as I pushed my member into her hole. She moaned in great delight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she continuously said.

Within the next few days, the two of us began our daily routines. I had my consistent choreography sessions while Tina had her performances at the theatre. It was now Saturday, of the next week, and the last time we spoke was Sunday morning. I left her a few text messages and voice mails, which she would reply to, but we wouldn't really have any actual conversations. So, I decided to take a visit to the theatre, I told them who I was and the nice security guard recognised me from opening night, so allowed me to watch the rehearsal. Of course she was still flawless as ever. Her graceful movements were still very visible as she moved across the stage as perfectly as she did on day one, and this was just the rehearsal.

"Let's take five!" called the director. Quickly the entire stage split apart. People went left to get food, right to sit down and up front to get their water bottles. Tina was amongst those who went forward. As if on cue, she noticed me immediately. Mike! she mouthed, which was quickly followed by a little run towards me.

"Mike, what are you doing here?" she hugged me quickly, allocating me the movement of standing up.

"I just came to see you, the Britney shoot is done and I'm just taking a little break from it all. How are you? Seems like I haven't heard from you in ages."

"I know, Mike, and I'm so so sorry for that, I've just be-"

"I didn't ask for an excuse, honey, I just wanted to know how you've been." I put my hand around her head and looked into her eyes.

"I've been good, sweetie," she giggled. "Yourself?" I then let go so she would feel slightly more comfortable.

"Same here, so how have the shows been going? You seem to still be doing a flawless job, may I add?"

"Oh shush you, and they've been going great, actually. I've met a lot of nice people, the work is tough, but hey, go big or go home, right?"

"Right. And this is why I love you sooo much, you're so damn determined."

"Aw, speak for yourself, choreographer! So how'd the Britney shoot go?"

"Um, I guess it was alright, we eventually got the job done, but never will I work with her again, ever." We both laughed quietly. The conversation went on for a bit until the director called for everybody to come back. So we said our goodbyes and off she went. I chose to go back to my apartment that night and went straight to bed.

The next evening at Tina's show, she delivered another spectacular performance and had every single member of the crowd on their feet. After the performance she went into the dressing room and fixed herself up for a night out with the girls.

"So who was that lovely man I saw you talking to last night, huh?" teased a co-star. Her skin was dark and her eyes were big and brown. Her name was Keke.

"Just my boyfriend," Tina replied.

"Oooooh," said a few girls in unison.

"Just?" commented a blonde girl with a slightly pink shaded skin, her name was Amanda.

"Oh shut up girls, he's my boyfriend, you happy?"

"Aww," said Keke, "are you in love?"

"What's with the change in tone at 'love'?" Tina asked, with a slight smile on her face.

"Ooooooh," the girls repeated.

"So she is in love, came a blonde girl named Hayley who looked slightly like a much younger version of Marilyn Monroe.

"Oh shut up," Tina said as she quickly collected her things, which was followed by the entire group of girls heading out.

Two weeks later I was sitting in my apartment watching Good Morning America as Tina was being interviewed on it.

"What's it like having all of this attention so soon?" asked the interviewer.

"It's nothing too big," she replied modestly. "I pretty much came here to live my dream as an actress, the fame is just a bonus, but it's great. The people are so lovely."

"Aw, and your boyfriend, how is he feeling about the attention?"

"Well he gets some of it himself for his own work. He's choreographed music videos and live performances for people like Justin Bieber and Rihanna, so he doesn't really mind," her signature giggle then followed. As the interview went on, I'd gotten a call.

"Hello, Mike Chang here," I spoke into the device.

"Hello, this is Usher's manager here, Jonetta Patton," replied the voice in the phone.

"Oh, hello miss, how may I help you?"

"Well Usher's going to be on tour in a few months and he needs a choreographer for his performance. He got the information from Justin and he'd love for you to help him. I've got your contact details including your email, I could send you all of the information including the money there if you like."

"Oh, wow, that's brilliant!"

"So would you like to begin in two days?" Two days! What?

"Ah, yes! Thank you!"

"My pleasure, your flight to L.A. will be organised, thank you, Mr. Chang, and have a nice day. We look forward to seeing you."

"You too, ma'am." As she put the phone down I thought of what I would tell Tina. I had to leave her, for L.A.! I quickly grabbed my phone and dialled her number. I allowed it to ring a few times before I shut it down. I tried again. No reply. I then texted a message to her: 'Hey, got some great news to tell you, call me back when you can, sweetheart. I love you x".

Tina had the next day off, so I knew that she wouldn't touch her dressing room, I sent her emails, Facebook messages and so much more, and still, no reply. She must be taking this break in much more than I thought.

As the time came for my flight, I hesitated. I wanted to go talk to her in the theatre but I would've missed my flight. So I didn't. I kept looking at my phone for new messages and nothing, well nothing from her at least. It was full of 'Congratulations!' and 'I'm so happy for you' etc. from a lot of other people, but nothing from Tina. What the hell was happening? After an hour of waiting at the airport, the plane was ready to board, and off I went. My stomach dropped completely. I couldn't believe I was going into a completely different state and Tina had no clue, at all.

By the time Tina entered her dressing room she looked at her phone in relief and grabbed it immediately. She dialled my number and received no response. She tried again and, nothing. She then texted and didn't get a reply for a few hours. So she decided to give me a voicemail message instead.

"Mike, Mike, I just found out some news that could put my entire career in jeopardy... I'm so friggen' sorry Mike, I know how proud you are of me, and I'm so friggen' sorry, I really am..." she was hesitant for a moment.

"Michael... I'm pregnant."


	6. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things begin to get rocky for Mike and Tina. Will this be the end of their relationship?

The rest of that night I couldn't fall asleep. My mind was too focused on what Mike's opinion was. He had to know, but where the hell was he? As I sat on my bed with my phone's screen shot in my face, I waited for him to respond. The night dragged on for way too long. My positions kept changing and changing, unfortunately the same didn't happen to my phone. I caught myself walking up and down the apartment, opening and closing the fridge, overeating on anything edible, just doing whatever it took to get my mind off of the current scenario. Which, didn't work at all. I took a little look at the photographs of Mike and I in a photo album. He'd write down little private quotes like 'I heart you, hash tag.' in his cute, legible handwriting.

3:30am. Still nothing. Why the hell was he not responding! Throughout the night I'd sent a dozen text messages and voicemails yet I received nothing in return. As I lay in my bed for another excruciating hour or so, I fell asleep.

The second I woke up I checked my phone. "No new text messages" it read. How was that even possible? My mind was at a huge daze at that point. I had no clue what was going on and what I should do. Between the baby and Mike not talking to me, what hell what happening? Is he okay? Does he hate me? I quickly decided to go straight to his apartment. No shower. No breakfast. Nothing. Bad decision for a pregnant woman but of course I wasn't thinking, I just needed Mike and I needed him to know. Now.

As I entered his apartment building, my stomach began to tie itself into one huge, uncomfortable knot, and it didn't feel good at all. I rang the doorbell. Then after a few moments of silence, I began to knock quite frantically. Nothing. I repeated it. Nothing.

"Mike!" I called out, maintaining my knocking. "Open up! We need to talk!"

"Excuse me," came a voice from behind me. I turned around to see a fairly short woman in a pale pink night gown and messy brown hair.

"Um, yes?" I said, slightly annoyed but with a slyly elastic tone of joy.

"Are you knocking for Michael Chang?" she said, wrapping herself in her gown.

"Yes. Do you know if he's awake?"

"Um, not quite, but I know he went on a plane last night." WHAT?

"Excuse me? A plane?"

"Yes. Are you a close friend?"

"I'm his girlfriend." That sounded odd for some reason. I had no clue why, but it was probably because it felt like after the news everything may change.

"Oh, well I'm sorry, he'll probably fill you in soon. Would you like to come into my apartment? I've got some hot chocolate you can have."

"Oh, no thank you, ma'am, I'm kind of in a rush, but I appreciate it." The woman then nodded and went into her apartment. I couldn't believe what I'd just heard, Mike had gone to some other place in this world and he hadn't told me! Why! I allowed myself to fall back on the wall with my head tilted upwards. Mike wasn't even in New York at that point. He wasn't answering his phone either. So we basically had no contact at all.

After I took a long walk around the streets of New York, I decided to call up one of Mike's dance friends, maybe they knew where he was. So I picked up the phone and pushed down the buttons.

"Yo, Chaz here," the phone spoke enthusiastically. Chaz was one of Mike's friends since he graduated Julliard. They helped each other get gigs every now and again.

"Hey, Chaz, this is Tina, I-"

"Yo! T! Whaddup girl?"

"Um, nothing much, would you happen to know where Michael is?"

"Woah, he didn't tell you?" No. He didn't fricken' tell me.

"Tell me what?"

"T, he's in L.A. right now." L.A!

"What, why!"

"He got a gig to choreograph Usher's tour there..." His voice was now much less hyper, and more alarming. "I mean I'm sure he meant-"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure he did, he was probably just busy." I could tell that Chaz could hear my sniffing. My eyes were letting tears fall out of them. "Listen, I gotta go, thank you." After I shut the phone off, I sat on a nearby bench, my head falling into my hands. I allowed myself this lonely and pitiful moment to just cry. I felt so worthless in Mike's life. Why wouldn't he want to tell me that he went? Maybe he got the message and decided to ignore me because of it. I wouldn't blame him. I've basically destroyed both of our careers so soon anyways.

After picking myself up off of my pathetic position on the public bench, I found myself sitting on my bed, tears still visible on my face. The next few days consisted of me being late for work, tacky dance moves, sloppy lines, virtually putting every single rehearsal into jeopardy.

"Take five!" called the irritated director. "Except for you, Tina, over here!" I walked over to his scruffy bearded face and awaited his negative comments. "What the hell was that?" His words were so damn predictable that they didn't even hurt. And even if I did, it was so hard to care with everything going on. "You danced like a pregnant woman over there, what is the matter with you?" Crap.

"What?" was all I could utter without giving anything away.

"You heard me, you better pick it up or I'll have you replaced in a heartbeat. You got it?"

"Yes sir," as I turned around, I noticed all the other cast members turning away from me. Did I seriously just get made fun of in front of everybody? The pregnancy and Mike were enough, having work piss me off even more was unacceptable, so I decided to shake it off and move on. The rehearsal was tough as hell but I had to pull through. I had a baby on the way, I couldn't lose my job now. Mike clearly wasn't interested in the scenario, so I had to work for this baby alone. No matter what was thrown my way, I worked my ass off, nonstop. Throughout the next few days, the tables were turned. I threw my arms in the air when I had to, sing the notes I was told and danced my butt off. Every song had to be right, every word had to be said correctly, every movement had to be accurate. And they were. I received smiles, applauses, hugs, all sorts. Even the Director gave me a smirk of 'well done' at the end of the day once.

The next morning I woke up oddly happy. I felt unusually good about myself. I got out of bed and made my daily coffee; half cream, half milk. Mmmmm. As I sipped my freshly made beverage, I noticed a letter come through my apartment door. I picked it up and I read my name, stylishly written in a legible manner. 'Tina Cohen-Chang' it said. I opened the letter and silently read it to myself.

"Dear Tina,

I'm so sorry for everything. As I got off of the plane, I'd just received your voice mails and texts. I've tried to text you but it hasn't been working. As I'll be gone for a month or two, I thought that I would give you a little surprise. This future Tina and Mike of ours will be the greatest kid on the Earth. And to support you with your pregnancy, I've attached $1000 to this letter, and I'll continue to do so in order for you and our child to both be happy and healthy. I'm so sorry that I can't be there right now, but please, don't be afraid to ask for more, we're going through this together, no matter WHAT you say. I'll be back in a month or two. I love you so much, Teenie Weenie, you are the most beautiful person in my life, and I hope you think of me in the exact same way. Even if you don't, just know that I love you, and our baby, so, so, soooo much.

-Mike"


	7. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Tina moving on from her role in 'Spring Awakening', the duo have to decide on their next steps as a couple.

After I'd finished my long trip in LA, I finally got the chance to meet with Tina back home in New York. I'd heard a lot of news on the success of her reign on Broadway, and how well she'd done in the show, but of course, she had to stop to take time off for the baby. But nonetheless, she was still an icon in most of New York's eyes.

And for me, my journey here had two more days left, allowing me to stay in LA. I loved it here, but I really didn't want to have to stay, I needed to see my girlfriend.

On the first of my two day vacation, I'd decided to check out the theatre. I took a little look at the showings and decided to see 'Ted'. I collected my ticket and headed for my seat. I inattentively watched the trailers until I saw an advertisement for 'Spring Awakening'.

"CATCH ONE OF BROADWAY'S MOST SUCCESSFUL SHOWINGS YET.

EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC.

THE ADVENTURE.

THE EMOTION.

IT'S SPRING AWAKENING.

STARRING ONE OF BROADWAY'S FINEST... MEGAN HILTY."

Megan Hilty?! I couldn't believe it. I know that Tina stopped but the reality of her being replaced had just hit me. It never really got to me that they were going to find somebody else, my beautiful and talented girlfriend, who had to come off Broadway, not by choice, was being taken over by somebody else! It probably made me a terrible boyfriend for just realising this, everything she'd worked for, all those auditions, call backs, tears, and she'd gotten substituted, just like that? As the movie went on, my mind wasn't focusing enough. I was too concentrated on how Tina was feeling. My stomach curled up inside, I had to make sure she was okay, so I left the theatre and walked out, dialling Tina's number into my cell phone.

"Hey, Mike! What's up?"

"Um, nothing really, how you doin'?"

"I'm doing fine, thank you, yourself?" I could tell that Tina felt a slight hesitation in my voice. I didn't want her to think that I was pitying her, that was exactly what she told me not to do, but I couldn't help it.

"I'm great, honey, erm, so I just saw an advertisement for Spring Awakening, personally, Megan Hilty definitely has nothing on you!"

"Aw, thank you, but she is pretty amazing."

"No no no, Wendla was made for you, this other girl doesn't suit it, trust me."

"Moving on... it's your break, right? How'd the tour go!?"

"Ah, everybody loved it, Tina! The crowd were on their feet, every single night! It was outstanding! Usher even brought me out at the end of it, to thank me in front of everyone!"

"Oh my God, Mike, that's fantastic! I'm so proud of you!" I felt my cheeks blushing. Her voice was so ecstatic and honest; she truly did care for me. But wait, no, this phone call was not supposed to be about me, it was about her!

"Ah, I love you honey," I said, to hide the awkwardness of my thoughts.

"I love you too," Again. BLUSHING.

"So how are things at New York?" I asked to carry on the conversation.

"They're great, actually, by the way, the money you're sending, it's really unnecessary, I do have my own cash, you know that, right?" she giggled.

"Yeah but, you know how it is, in New York, with all that money needed for so many necessities!"

"Keep quiet, Mike! I don't need the money darling, seriously, save it for later, when it's really needed! Who knows how much of a hassle Mike and Tina Junior will be?" Immediately I heard her gorgeous laugh chuckle away.

"No no no, it's for you!"

"Shut up Mike, but seriously, I really don't need the money, spend it on yourself." She had no idea how much money I had, and what I was gonna spend it on. But, the lady made her choice, that meant that I had more to spend here in Los Angeles!

My next and final day in LA was full of shopping, and window shopping for that matter. I looked in ten different stores and gazed upon a few things, bought a hat, scarf, coat and even a ring. Yeah it's LA, but I was heading back to New York, after all.

As I boarded the plane, I texted Tina and collapsed in my seat. LA kicked my ass, in a good way, and I was ready to get back to New York and see my beautiful girlfriend. I hadn't held that wonderful being in a long time, and I needed to do it soon. The plane ride had a broadcast telling us that we would be expecting snow as soon as we had landed. Thank God I bought those things in LA! So to pass the time, I'd spoken to this little girl next to me. She told me about how her Dad had proposed to her Mom on the London Bridge and it had even gotten in the newspaper! Her Mom was a famous talk show host when it had happened and everybody everywhere had fallen in love with it. She was so enthusiastic about it and it had gotten me so much more excited to reunite with Tina. As the little girl fell asleep, I no longer had anybody to talk to, so I got a notepad out and started writing and doodling. This consisted mainly of Tina, and I enjoyed every second of it.

Once I'd gotten off the plane journey, there was no snow in sight, but man was I glad to be back in New York, and before I knew it, I was in the middle of Times Square; the smell of the freshly made coffee, the sound of people walking about in a rush, taxies moving and stopping like there's no tomorrow. Welcome back, I heard the city call.

As I stood in the same spot, admiring the view that I once again had, I dialled Tina's number on to my cell phone, telling her to meet me at Times Square. During my wait for her, I felt a chilly breeze being built up, which was soon followed by snowflakes falling from the sky. As time went on, the scene built and built and half an hour later, the ground was one beautiful shade of white. I then looked up from the ground and saw Tina, in a sleeveless pink dress with a black knitted cardigan and black boots. She walked so elegantly and admirably, I couldn't help but smile that she was finally in my view and not over a computer screen.

"TINA!" I yelled, too excited to keep my cool. We ran up to each other and hugged immensely; the touch of her tender arms, she was so warm and indulging, my smile kept on growing and growing. "I love you so much," I said, my mouth on her shoulder.

"I love you too," she said, in the exact same position as me. As I let go of her, I put my hand in the bag and gave her the pink coat, red hat and black scarf that I'd bought, for her.

"Thank you so much! Exactly what I needed," she said happily, as I placed the clothing on her precious body.

"Now wait, I have one more surprise for you, Miss Broadway,"

"Ooh, and what is that, Mr LA?" her smile grew at this point. After she said that, I took a step back and put a hand behind my back and began to sing.

"I remember our first date in high school,

We were so young and such little fools,

It was also the day of our first kiss,

And now it's turned into all of this..." as I continued to sing, crowds slowly gathered, and Tina's face grew with a great smile on it.

"I was thinking of you in a plane ride,

So I wrote this song about you and I,

Years later and we're still so strong,

I know it's cheesy but it won't last long," her face was beaming of 'Yes Mike, this is very cheesy,' but I had to keep going on, she was enjoying it after all, and the crowd was clicking to their own melody in unison.

"We went to Julliard and we broke up,

But we got back together 'cos we were in love,

We kissed on News Years Day and you said 'I love you',

And I hope you know I feel the same way too.

We made it in New York, we got so far,

You're on Broadway and you're a star,

This song is for you, as you can see,

Oh Tina Cohen-Chang, will you marry me?" As soon as I said the last line, I pulled out the ring that I'd bought from LA and got down on one knee, looking up at Tina with a big smile on my face, as hers had dropped. The crowd fell silent. My heart started pumped. Sweat began to form.

"Mike... I..." she paused for a moment. "Mike, yes. Yes I will marry you!" The public roared with cheers and applause as I placed the ring on her finger elegantly. I got up, held her arms and we kissed. The passion that we had was slow and incredible. I'd thought long and hard about my decision, it's why I went to a whole bunch of stores to find the ring. And it was all worth. Tina Cohen-Chang, was now going to be my wife, and I loved every single sound of that.


	8. Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike and Tina prepare for the birth of their twins.

Two months. Only two more months left and Mike and I could see our child for the first time. We'd already bought a bunch of toys and accessories for him, yes, him, and just looking at the things made us even more excited than we already were. Mike and I were so eager for the baby to come that we soon found ourselves shopping for him once every other day, just so we were ready. The two of us had purchased baby rattles, a play mat, baby napkins, milk bottles, wipes and a whole lot more. Seven weeks later, we eventually realised that my apartment just wasn't enough, so we had to go searching for a new one.

"Hey, this looks nice!" I said to Mike in the real estate building, pointing to a two bedroom apartment. "It looks gorgeous."

"There are other things than just looks, Tina," Mike laughed. "How big is it?" Damn. We exchanged a glance and moved on.

"Let's just take the tour," I said.

A couple of days later we met with a real estate agent to check out the apartments. A man with a plain black sweatshirt on with grey trousers appeared in front of our faces. His hair was brown and scruffy, and his thin glasses were at the tip of his nose. "Hello," he spoke as he came up the small flight of stairs. "My name is George Hunter, and if you may, follow me." The brown haired man walked us into the building and entered a door. The room had a maroon theme in chairs, tables and rugs, as well as a dirty wooden floor. "Of course you can change it up a little, in terms of what goes where and the colour scheme,"

"I don't like it," I whispered to Mike. "It doesn't feel right."

"Me neither," came George. "Wanna move on?" Mike and I smiled and nodded in unison. We followed him and entered a wide range of different apartments. Some were too small, loud neighbours, broken doors, no doors and all sorts of nonsense. But then we came across the ideal apartment. It had three bedrooms, a beautiful kitchen space and two bathrooms.

"Perfect." Mike and I looked at each other after saying this and smiled greatly.

"We'll take it," Mike said with a huge grin on his face as he held my hand.

Once we'd finally moved into our new apartment, everything immediately felt like home. We put up all of the baby items, our beds, necessities and everything else we needed and it was done. The place was complete, and we couldn't be happier. After realising that we deserved a celebration, that day we decided to do so by going out to dinner.

"So where should we go?" I asked, looking at a computer screen with a whole bunch of restaurants in New York City.

"How about we go try out a family thing? Somewhere we can take our little boy?"

"Hmm," I said aloud, "but where?" Mike came closer to me, his eyes fixed on the computer.

"How about that one?" he pointed to a restaurant named Lil' Timmie's. "It looks like it'd be quite cool." I clicked the link and was directed to a colourful page with images of a mini play area and a brightly themed building. They sold all sorts of goods, from pizza to ice cream to steamed vegetables and coffee.

"Perfect" we said in harmony.

That night we headed out to Lil' Timmie's and were pleasantly satisfied with what it turned out to be. Exactly what they said. Lovely food. Gorgeous design. Bright colours. Our little boy was gonna love it. We said down and ordered a pizza, we needed something unhealthy. As we ate, I thought to myself about how our little child was going to react to the wedding. He obviously had to be there, but the question was... when?

"So, you do understand that we have to have the wedding in a few years, right?" I spoke up.

"Why's that?" Mike said, taking a bite of his pizza with a face as confused as a child in a college campus.

"The baby will be coming before the wedding, as in, this year... we can't just have a baby then have a wedding right after, imagine the stress, Mike." His face looked as if I'd just shot him in the heart.

"Alright, but one thing, how do you imagine it to be when it arrives?" I sighed, immediately thinking about being the one girl who everybody had their eyes on for that night.

"Well, I need a gorgeous white dress. I also need my Spring Awakening family there, as well as Mercedes, Rachel, Kurt and everybody else from Glee Club back in High School. Also, it needs to be outside, on a sunny day, with flowers and beautiful decorations..."

When we came home that night, I immediately collapsed on the bed as Mike hung up our coats and took off our shoes. He was soon lying next to me and rubbed my stomach softly.

"I can't wait for the day that he pops out of there," he whispered into my ear.

"Me neither, have you come up with a name yet? It's almost due date." He was silent for a few seconds, probably thinking.

"How's Mario sound?" Love it.

"Perfect, Mario it-" I felt a strange feeling in my body. My leg got a little wet. It was definitely not my time of the month, "I... M-"

"What's the matter?" Mike got up a little, holding my arms.

"I think my water broke." The next thing I knew I was on a stretcher in a hospital screaming my lungs out. The continuity of voices telling me that it'll be okay, the loud footsteps on either side of me, the calling of the doctors, everything was making the situation so much worse than it already was. Why was it happening now?!

Mike's hand was on my arm as he calmly told me that it was all going to be alright, which, I replied with a "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" I kept pushing as the staff told me to, and felt as if nothing was going to work, the excruciating pain felt worse and worse as time went on. The baby wasn't coming out, I had it locked in my head that I was going to be stuck like this forever. "HELP ME MIKE!" I screamed.

"Just keep calm and pu-"

"SHUT UP!" my body felt useless, I felt useless, nothing was working. After hours of trying, I finally started to notice progress and as soon as it was done, the biggest wash of relief ran through my entire body as my child was taken away. Mike leaned over to kiss me softly on the lips.

"I'm so proud of you, Tina, for going through all of that," he said with a little smile on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Mike, for what I s-" before I could even finish my sentence, he repeated our kiss.

As the baby returned in my sight, I held him closely in my arms. He had the same magnificent head shape that Mike had, and his nose was as small as mine. He was beautiful. Those pink round lips. The beautiful light shade of skin. Those wide, wonderful eyes. I looked over to Mike as I passed our child over to him and saw tears in his face. Michael Robert Chang, the one man in my life who hardly ever cried, was in tears over the sight of our baby. The exact same emotion came across to me as I saw the two bonding. The two biggest loves of my life were together, happy. After a few moments together, Mike gave Mario back to me, and he started giggling. A wide grin came across my face as I stared into his gorgeous eyes. My beautiful baby that I've been waiting for for nine months was here in my sight. As I continuously looked at him, he seemed a little tired and his eyes slowly closed. Then his stunning brown skin turned pale. His round and pink lips faded to blue. My face fell.

"What is going on?!" I screamed. "What's happening?!" The nurses quickly took Mario away from me as Mike had to pull me back so I didn't stop them. I screamed in Mike's ear, begging him to tell me that everything was going to be okay, and he did, but he was lying, we both knew it. The tears on both of our faces went from joy to pain as our lives came crashing down right before our very eyes. This was not happening. Not to us.

"I'm, I'm so sorry, but there is no way we can help him survive," the Doctor said in a low tone. "If you would like, we can pass him to you and you can spend his final moments together. With that being said, the nurses came up to us as they placed him back in my arms. My stomach fell. I looked him in the eyes as they opened slightly, I needed him to survive. "Please," I begged, "please Mario, please be strong, please." Mike's hands massaged my shoulders as I pleaded my son to stay alive.

"Be strong," Mike whispered to me. "Be strong." I sucked up my pain and gave off a loving smile. But it was too late. Mario's eyes closed and I felt his breathing come to an end. I burst out in to tears immediately. Mike gripped his arms around me as he hugged me tight. This was not happening. My one and only child had died in my arms. He was twelve minutes old, and God took him away already. I swore that I would never ever be happy ever again.

And from that moment on, I felt as if nothing in life would ever be worth the battle ever again.


	9. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina and Mike tie the knot for good.

It was exactly eleven months since the death of Mario. Twelve minutes. That's all he lived. This was the first time we'd allowed ourselves to grieve over him. Tina swore that she would never find happiness again, but I've been trying to help her look to the bright side more. She has never been the type to just give up on life and now was not going to be the time she did. For the past eleven months I'd been planning the wedding, asking for her input, but she never mentioned anything about it. Then I remembered that talk we had back in Lil' Timmie's;

"I need a gorgeous white dress. I also need my Spring Awakening family there, as well as Mercedes, Rachel, Kurt and everybody else from Glee Club back in High School. Also, it needs to be outside, on a sunny day, with flowers and beautiful decorations..."

Every day I had to go out and plan the ceremony, alone. I didn't want her to give up completely, she was my entire world, and she meant everything to me. Seeing her upset had the exact same affect on me. I had to plan everything; ordering the correct scenery, calling up the right people, booking the perfect venue, everything was left on to me. Then came the big day.

This time tomorrow Tina and I would be married! That beautiful girl from High School whom I'd watch from afar every day, was now going to be my wife! Our parents kept coming over to discuss the plans; they wanted to know everything, from what food will be there to who's coming and why. But sometimes, well, most of the time, these conversations didn't really work out so well.

One evening, Tina and I were relaxing in our apartment. I held her in my arms on a bed as she lay with her head on my chest. It was beautifully peaceful until a sudden knock came at the door, which, wasn't as loud as we made it out to be.

"Come in!" I said, waiting for the guests to open the door.

"We can't, it's locked," Oh. It was my parents. I quickly got up to open the door, putting on an evidently fake smile.

"Hi, mom, dad, what are you doing here?" I said as I swung it open.

"We came to have a talk with you and your, fiancé." My mom gave Tina a smile to say 'hello', which she happened to return with the same reaction. I opened my arm to show them the way in. As the pairing sat on a black leather sofa, as if on cue, I returned with four mugs of coffee a few moments later.

"So, how are you doing?" I asked as I sat next to Tina and placed my mug on the small coffee table.

"We're doing just fine, Michael," replied my Dad. "We came here to discuss your, engagement." My throat immediately went dry.

"Um, what about it?" my eyes moved back and forth on my parents as they looked at each other in desperation of making the other speak. My mother cracked.

"We-"she thought about what she would say before she spoke. "Your father and I believe that it's a little early for a wedding."

"You can say that twice," Tina rolled her eyes as she spoke under her breathe. I shot her a look and went straight back to my parents.

"Mom, Dad, I've explained this to you a hundred times, it's not early, we just lost our baby, do we no-"

"Exactly, Michael. You just lost your baby, why would you want to go on to another life changing event?!" my Dad's eyes were locked on me.

"Because I know that this life changing event, it can really help us, emotionally. Tina and I haven't exactly been the happiest couple these past few months, and I've put in so much planning, and everybody's already booked their flights, they're flying in tonight!"

"We know that, Michael, we know, it's just, what if you two aren't right for each other? Did you ever think about that?" My mother's words hung in the air for a few moments. Tina's eyes suddenly moved to the floor. She was thinking hard about this. Was I seriously the only person in the room who knew that our love was actually going to last?!

"Mom, Dad, I know that our minds have been made up."

"No," Tina said, her eyes still fixated on the ground. "What if they're right, Michael? What if, what if Mario was a sign?" She turned to me, her eyes now locked on mine. "What if his death was a message from God to tell us that this wasn't going to work? Maybe your parents are right here." She then turned around, her eyes again locked on the ground, then at my parents. "I'm sorry, but thank you for this talk; we'll get back to you with our thoughts another time." After a few awkward topics about the supposed weather and the previous night's news, they exited the apartment and left us behind to discuss the unfinished topic alone.

"What was that?" I said to Tina, my teeth touching a little too hard.

"Michael," Tina said, holding my hands. "What if it is true? Since when did High School couples even last anyways? And do you really think your parents would come here at this point of the journey to say that we shouldn't do it if they truly didn't believe it? Mario could be a message from God-"

"BUT THEY'RE NOT GOD, TINA! THEY'RE NOT GOD!" I was now yelling at her, I couldn't help but just let it all out. "WHY WOULD GOD PUT US THROUGH ALL OF THIS, JUST TO TELL US WE'RE NOT RIGHT FOR EACH OTHER!?"

"So we can get some experience, Mich-"

"NO! THIS IS NOT JUST ANOTHER EXPERIENCE, this is love, Tina. A love that will last! And I'm gonna prove it to you, tomorrow, at the wedding, you're gonna realise how much you truly love me, and you wanna know how? Your 'I do,' will be from the heart, and not a cliché love story." Tears had formed in my eyes as I was shouting, but it wasn't my fault. I'd been in love with Tina for around a decade now, and it wasn't going to be over anytime soon.

The next morning I woke up, with Tina not by my side. I got out of bed and went into the kitchen, to see Tina already eating breakfast at the table.

"What are you doing?" I said, devastated at what was in front of me.

"Eating breakfast, you want some?" she replied, her eyes focused on her food.

"But you're eating alone... We always eat breakfast together, Tina." She didn't respond. I walked over and put some clothes on and headed out in frustration. "See you at the wedding, I hope," I said as I closed the door behind me.

As I walked down the streets of New York with my hands in my coat pocket and my earphones in my ears, my cell phone began to ring. I picked it up to see the name 'Sam' on the screen. "Hello?" I said, looking around to see if he was in site.

"What's up, Mike? Bro, it's your big day!" came Sam from his phone in his typically over excited tone of voice.

"Haha, yeah, I know, where've you been!?"

"I've been living in Florida man. I haven't heard from you in a while man, I'm so glad at least one couple from New Directions has lasted, ha."

"Wait, what happened to-"

"Don't ask man, but you even outlived the Finn and Rachel phenomenon!" If yesterday and this morning hadn't happened, a wide grin would be on my face, but the only trace of excitement was the plastic tone of voice I'd used.

"Yeah, man, we did good, haha"

"Yes you did bro, haha, so listen, I gotta go, I'll catch you in a couple of hours!" As we shut our phones down, I stopped for a minute and began to think. My mind went back to the times that Tina and I had back in High School; like our first duet in the Glee Club competition, when she taught how to sing, back when I auditioned for West Side Story and told her the great news, our first time, our Julliard acceptance letters... Even those times in College, like the jealousy, New Year's Eve, graduation... For the first time in a long while, I actually had my doubts about our relationship... What if she truly believes that Mario was a message from God? What if Mario actually was a message from God?

As I entered the venue, everything seemed right, except the feeling I had inside. I saw that the ice sculpture that I'd ordered of the two of us was exactly how I'd imagined, there was also a chocolate fountain with lots of treats around it, as well as the large amount of white. Everything looked perfect, it just didn't feel that way... As time went on, I'd seen a few people from High School all congratulating myself and Tina.

"Michael!" Rachel called as she came towards me, holding the hand of a brunette headed guy with brown eyes. "Oh my God, I'm so happy for you two!" she said as she hugged me tightly.

"Thank you, Rach."

"Sorry, um, this is Jason. I met him at an audition and, we fell in love. I mean, I'm not the lead success that I'd always dreamed of being, but, here I am, holding the hand of someone I love." She raised her hand and I saw a wedding ring on her finger.

"Enaged?!" I said loudly, holding her arms.

"Yes, I am engaged!" her smile grew widely as she giggled her way through our hug. After Rachel and her fiancé left, Mercedes soon came up to me with a well built and slightly taller man next to me.

"Hey Michael," she said as she quickly hugged me. "Good for you, for being one of the few couples who actually made it passed High School, haha."

"One of...?"

"Well, Finn and Rachel, Kurt and Blaine, and even Sugar and Rory! Oh, and obviously myself and Sam," she giggled at the last part, clearly not regretting anything...

"What about Santana and Brittany?" I asked, extremely intrigued.

"Oh, they got married," A sigh of relief hit me at her words. "But they got a divorce after Santana's Grandmother convinced Brittany that marrying a girl isn't worth it." My heart sank.

"What?"

"I know, I was with Santana for months until she was finally okay with leaving the house in something other than sweatpants," she giggled playfully at the end of that. "Well I'll see you soon, with a ring on your finger of course. Congrats!" And with that she was gone. I'd seen Brittany, Quinn, Kurt, Finn, Sugar, Artie, Santana, Joe, Rory, Blaine and Noah. None of their relationships had lasted, and none of that was helping me at all.

A couple of hours went by, and it was finally time for the ceremony to begin. I walked down the aisle, music was playing and my heart was beating. Then I stood on stage.

As Tina was announced, I saw her gorgeous white dress that I bought her with that extravagant smile across that wonderful face of hers. After she entered the stage, the grey haired man opened his mouth to speak.

"Now, Tina Cohen-Chang, do you have any words to say before you announce your life commitment?

"Yes," she replied. "Michael, I've known you for the majority of my life, and I am so glad that I did. I know that the past few days, months even, haven't exactly worked out very well, and I know that recently, nothing seems to be going right, but today, I've realised that, the fact that although I can really be a miserable little bitch, you'll always pull through for me. And I'm so sorry for everything Michael. I'm so, so sorry that the past few days have been the way that they have. But just to be clear, I love you so much Michael Robert Chang, and I'd do anything to make you realise that you are the love of my life." As the audience began to tear up, I kissed her on the lips and enjoyed the softness of her mouth that I hadn't received in a long time. The crowd began to cheer, Kurt and Mercedes were the first to stand and clap, followed by a few members of Spring Awakening, which lead the rest of the guests on. I could feel the tears of emotion fall from everybody in the seats.

"Wait, you haven't said your 'I do's' yet!" called the grey haired man. The crowd fell silent.

"I do," I said as I turned around to face him.

"I do," Tina said with a smile. We popped the rings on and kissed, causing the entire room to fill up with joy again. Tina and I were officially a married couple and nothing would split us apart.

After a while, the guests started to go home, we'd received a ton of gifts from our friends and family, even from our parents. Once we'd received everything, the two of us decided to walk around together, arm in arm.

"Thank you," she said as we walked across the grass.

"For what?" I asked, turning to face her.

"The wedding? The love? Everything, Michael. You got everything that I wished for so right today. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Tina. You know that I'd do anything to see that beautiful smile on your gorgeous face."

"I do," she giggled and then we kissed again. Slowly, rain started to drop a little, but it soon turned into a great, big, heavy shower.

"Um, well, I can't control the weather," I joked.

"Shut up you dork, let's go in the car!" As we ran hand in hand in our car, we were driven all the way to our apartment, where we'd wished to be alone.

As we shut the door behind us, we got into our pyjamas and sat in front of the television, Tina laying on my chest and the room all warm. As we were watching a The Last Song, she slightly moved up, her face directly in front of mine, and gave me a small kiss. When our lips departed from one another, she looked me straight in the eyes.

"Wanna try again?" she whispered.

"Are you sure?" I whispered back. She nodded slowly. Our lips met once more, and she pulled my t shirt off. I took off her vest as she placed her hands on my chest.

Nine months later, Tina lay in the hospital bed, with a baby boy in her arms. His name was Abraham. He looked exactly like us; those pink round lips, the beautiful light shade of skin, a wide and wonderful pair of eyes. He had Tina's eyes and my nose. He was the most wonderful thing either of us had ever laid our eyes upon. And we both loved him. Tina had never smiled so much; she had a healthy baby in her arms and loved every second of it. She turned over to me and gave me a wide grin. "I love you so much, Michael. All of this, the stress, the worries, Mario wasn't a message from God after all, just a test."

"Just a test... which we passed."

I kissed her forehead and Abraham began to giggle. He already loved us as much as we loved him. Thank God I kept those baby items safe, this was gonna be a wonderful journey.


End file.
